HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I recently received a Private message and I have to agree.
Never assume a Hermit Crab is dead until absolutely positive.
Sometimes a Molting crab will go limp and will not show absolute signs
of life. I copied and am pasting 2 key points.

1: It is normal for crabs preparing to molt to go limp and appear to be dead.

2: A Crab should not be presumed dead until it gives off the death smell.

I hope this will help all of us in the future.
I know that I, for one, have felt guilty about the possibility that I may have
unintentionally, inadvertently and accidentally killed a Hermit Crab because I thought it was dead.
Thanks.
OIF_VET

http://members.aol.com/jill307/hermitcrabdoc5.html

The picture at the top of this page will give you a good idea of how lifeless crabs can look when they molt. If only I knew

Excellent quote in your signature. Dune is one of my favorite books and I thoroughly enjoy the movies too. They are remaking the 1984 version now and it is set to debut in 2010.

Yeah. Earlier I looked in my crabitat and saw what I at first thought was Hurley, crushed by the Hermie hut. After about 2o minutes of freaking out my dad realized it was just his exoskeleton.

I think he's dead- he molted last week and then he finally got back to his old self so I put him back in my crabitat- only the next morning he was naked - and one of my other crabbies had his shell....I isolated him again but I think he's gone. I feel like crap!

I think he's dead- he molted last week and then he finally got back to his old self so I put him back in my crabitat- only the next morning he was naked - and one of my other crabbies had his shell....I isolated him again but I think he's gone. I feel like crap!

When you ISO'd him, did you give him some shells to change into? Honey & Cuttlebone? Don't assume death until you can smell the dead fish smell from him.

OIF_VET wrote:I recently received a Private message and I have to agree.
Never assume a Hermit Crab is dead until absolutely positive.
Sometimes a Molting crab will go limp and will not show absolute signs
of life. I copied and am pasting 2 key points.

1: It is normal for crabs preparing to molt to go limp and appear to be dead.

2: A Crab should not be presumed dead until it gives off the death smell.

I hope this will help all of us in the future.
I know that I, for one, have felt guilty about the possibility that I may have
unintentionally, inadvertently and accidentally killed a Hermit Crab because I thought it was dead.
Thanks.
OIF_VET

O M G !!! I am freaking out right now thinking i MUST have killed one of my crabs then. I am just feeling SICK right now! I remember I was so afraid the other crabs would get sick so I would remove the dead one ASAP.... now i wonder if he was even dead?! If they fall right out of their shells when you pick them up.... I THOUGHT that meant dead. I honestly cant remember if he smelled. Maybe its better if I dont remember

THANKS SOOOO MUCH for posting this! I wish Pet Stores would give out all the FACTS when they sell their crabs. It kills me thinking how many people buy these beautiful creatures and don't even take care of them right

I just got home today for being away for less than 24 hours and I checked on my hermies and one of my newer ones, Puddin, was kind of out of the shell and I picked him up and he didn't move. I touched his BP and nothing happened either. He's been hiding sort of since I got him and sometimes he'll sit in the same spot for an entire day. I smelled him (even though I felt like a freak) and he didn't really smell like anything so I put him back down and I'm hoping he'll be ok? Any suggestions?

Yes, can you make sure he has an empty shell next to him and cut the top off of a 2 liter bottle of soda to make a dome over him so the other crabs won't get to him? GOOD LUCK

One of my crabs died a while ago, but never gave off the death smell. His whole body however fell apart, literally, including his head and abdomen. They split in half...

My point is, not ALL crabs give off a "death smell" when they die.

I think everyone has the feeling of "OMG. I JUST KILLED MY HERMIT CRAB." after reading this post -- I know I do. I remember tank, I thought he was dead... now I'm doubting he was.

Wish I read this about 10 min ago maybe I wouldn't have freaked out so much. I was checking the temp on the tank and realized Bruce wasn't moving and he hasn't moved in a few days he was just in his hut so I picked him up and things just came from his shell, I didn't really look at what came out but I just assumed he was dead so I put him back down and started taking thing out of the tank, I pick up the shell thinking I can have it for another crab but when I looked in I saw this claw guarding the entrance, that's when I realized he was just molting and not dead. I put him back down quickly and put everything back, I just hoped I didn't hinder his molting process.

I did something similar to that once. One of the baby crabs, Sammy, had climbed into a shell bigger then her and had been there for a few days. One morning I went out an picked it up and her exo was staring right at me. It was so freaky. But she was ok. How big was the crab?

my crabbies are just hanging on this ship wreck decoration. they have moved but very little and they have been on this thing for 3 days. i dont think they are eating because nothing looks disturbed. i mist them so i think they may be drinking from my doing this. this was a newly designed tank but they were in here for a couple of days acting normal before the odd behavior. i tried removing them but they clench onto this thing for dear life. any ideas as to what is happening. i've only had these little guys for a couple of weeks now....help....ty

the crabs are still moping around. not moving much and i don't believe they have eaten in about four days now. twice I've had the chance to pick them up and put them near the food and water and they just go back to where they were and just sit there and do nothing. there is plenty of shells for them. the temp and humidity are within normal range. sand which is sand castle consistency. plenty of food and water, salt and regular. and also hiding places for them. thanks for your help!